A/N: Hey guys! Merry Christmas!
This is just a one shot, as a Christmas gift for my most loyal reader and best friend on here, WolfieRed23. The idea was to see my take on Lucy and Alfendi's relationship. Wolfie has a way of talking me into a ship. I used to be caution of shipping these two, mainly because, my luck, it'd turn into another ApolloxTrucy situation, buuuuuut… I decided to go ahead and jump in.
This happens after the events of the game. Katrielle is from Lady Layton, and Mary is her mother and Hershel's new wife. She was introduced in another story called Second Chances.
Merry Christmas WolfieRed23, and everyone who is reading this!
…
Alfendi Layton had never been able to get into the joy of the Christmas season. The Professor, Luke, and his sisters tried hard, but Alfendi always found the bright lights and carols grating.
It wasn't that he was a scrooge. He did enjoy seeing his family happy, but he had a hard time getting into it himself.
This year was different.
It wasn't that he was suddenly singing Christmas carols and throwing glitter everywhere. That would never happen. But this year had been a good year for Alfendi, and that put him in the giving mood. It wasn't hard to buy for the Professor: he got him a silver, antique pocket watch. Flora and her husband, Eric, got a nice tea set, while he bought his niece, Violet, some meaningless toy that she would love. Alfendi got Katrielle detective books, and Mary would receive a necklace from him.
All of this was in the bag that swung from Alfendi's wrist as he stalked through the shopping mall, but he wasn't done shopping. He had one more person to buy for, but no idea what to buy for her.
"Hello sir! Can I interest you in—" a too happy worker from a chocolate shop started, cutting off only when Alfendi's hair turned scarlet, and he snarled at her. The woman scuttled back into the store, and Alfendi put a hand to his head. All of the garish lights were giving him a headache.
"Alfendi? What are you doing here?" a voice suddenly said from behind. He jumped slightly and turned, spotting Flora, who was burdened down with bags of her own, mainly from the toy store. He quickly glanced down at his bags, making sure her gift was hidden.
"Shopping. What does it look like?" he snapped. Flora beamed at him, glancing at his bag. Alfendi moved it behind his back.
"It looks like you already have something for everyone," she said. Alfendi rolled his eyes.
"Almost," he sighed. Flora grinned.
"Let me guess. Lucy?" she asked innocently. Alfendi's withering look was answer enough. "Well, any ideas of what to get her?"
"Obviously not, since I've been walking around this damned place for two hours," he snapped. Flora's smile grew wider, and she leaned closer.
"Well, what is she to you?" Flora asked.
"My assistant," Alfendi replied immediately. Flora laughed at that.
"Uh-huh. And that's why you've been walking around somewhere you hate for two hours, stressing about it," Flora replied. "After everything she's done for you, I think she's more than just your assistant."
With a huff, Alfendi turned away from the woman, his hair slowly dulling back into its now-normal shade purple. Flora smiled and moved to walk next to him. "Can I ask you a question?" she said.
"You will even if I say no," the exasperated man replied.
"How do you feel about Lucy? I mean, really?" she asked. Alfendi looked over at her.
"She's my assistant. My friend, I guess? Or…" Alfendi sighed, looking down. Flora smiled even more at that.
"What about a nice piece of jewelry?" she asked.
"I don't think I've ever seen her wear so much as a pair of earrings…" Alfendi mused.
"Huh. Okay, well…" Flora trailed off, thinking. "What about something meaningful between the two of you? I mean, if it wasn't for her, you… well, you wouldn't be…" she trailed of.
"I wouldn't be cleared of suspicion and kind of back to myself?" Alfendi supplied. Flora gave him a half-shrug. "Perhaps you're right. She's… helped me a lot…"
"She has," Flora agreed. Alfendi fell quiet, thinking over the past few months he'd known Lucy Baker.
She was brash, outspoken, and stubborn. She was also empathetic, sweet, and undeniably optimistic. And, as Alfendi thought more about it, he realized that Lucy had brought light to his life, especially during a dark time.
For god's sake, he was out Christmas shopping because of her!
Alfendi slowed to a stop as he spotted a previously unnoticed store. Flora glanced between the store and Alfendi before grinning.
"That would be perfect!" she said brightly, pushing her somewhat reluctant brother into the store.
…
Lucy Baker hurried down the street, glancing at the paper in her hand. It was Christmas Eve. She had planned to spend it home alone, watching old Christmas movies and eating ice cream, when Alfendi's father, the Professor Layton, had called, inviting her to dinner.
She would have felt very rude saying no, and it would be a good chance to give Alfendi his gift.
She finally caught site of the Professor's flat, and walked up the steps, knocking. The door opened, revealing a tall woman with light brown, curly hair and bright, blue eyes. She smiled brightly at Lucy.
"You must be Lucy Baker! I'm Mary, Alfendi's mother," she said, stepping back and letting the younger woman in. Lucy blinked up at her, surprised. She didn't look anything like Alfendi.
"Er, aye," Lucy said, smiling after her moment of surprise. Mary smiled warmly back and hugged her.
"Well, Feliz Navidad!" she said brightly. Lucy, surprised, hesitated before hugging her back.
"Um…"
"It means Merry Christmas," Alfendi said, coming into the entrance as Mary let Lucy go. Lucy looked up with a small smile. "Mother's spent twenty years in Latin America studying the indigenous culture," he explained, before his eyebrows drew together. "What are you doing here?"
"Your father invited her," Mary said, taking the bag from Lucy. "Show her into the living room," she said, sweeping further into the flat. Alfendi and Lucy glanced at each other, the atmosphere suddenly becoming extremely awkward.
"Er, hi, Prof," Lucy finally said. Alfendi smiled slightly at her.
"Hello, Lucy. Well, this way," Alfendi finally said, leading Lucy into the den. Eric, Flora's husband, was sitting on the floor with their daughter, Violet, and Alfendi's sister, Katrielle. A brown and white puppy bounded between the two girls, until it jumped on Eric, who had, up to this point, been ignoring him.
"Whoa!" he called, falling backwards. The two girls laughed, and even Alfendi snorted softly, catching everyone's attention.
"Hey, Alfendi. Who's this?" Eric asked as he sat up, fondling the dog's ears.
"Detective Constable Lucy Baker. She's my assistant," Alfendi introduced. "Lucy, this is my brother-in-law, Eric, his daughter, Violet, my sister, Katrielle, and her dog, Sharo. My other sister, Flora, is in the kitchen with my parents," he said. Lucy smiled warmly.
"It's right nice to meet you all," she said as politely as possible. The others smiled at her, and she found herself dragged into conversation almost immediately. Alfendi watched for a few minutes before slipping into the kitchen. Mary was in the middle of shooing Hershel away from the oven, while Flora was chopping something over at the counter. Mary finally succeeded in chasing Hershel away and took over the cooking.
"Father," Alfendi started.
"Yes, my boy?" Hershel asked as he joined his son on the other side of the kitchen.
"Why'd you invite Lucy over?" the younger man asked.
"Commissioner Barton just happened to mention that Lucy had no family close by. I didn't want her to spend Christmas Eve by herself," Hershel explained calmly. "Besides, after how much she's done for you, I wanted to meet her."
"Right…" Alfendi muttered, before realizing something.
He had left Lucy's gift at the office.
"I… I'll be right back. I forgot something at work," he said, rushing out.
"Ah, Alfendi!" Hershel called after his son, before sighing. Flora smiled warmly as she carried the chopped veggies over to Mary.
"Don't worry, Professor. He'll be right back. I suspect he just forgot a gift or two," she said. Mary smiled warmly as well at that, before handing Hershel a tray of tea. He smiled back at her and carried it into the living room.
"Here's tea for everyone – and hot cocoa for you, Violet," Hershel said, setting the tray down on the coffee table. He then realized something and glanced over at Lucy. "I'm sorry, my dear, I guess this is the first time we've met in person. I'm Alfendi's father, Hershel Layton."
Lucy found herself shocked for the second time that night at Alfendi's parents. After meeting Mary, she had thought that maybe Alfendi took more after his father, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Alfendi was tall, pale, and skinny, with gold eyes and sometimes-purple-sometimes-red hair.
Hershel was short, tan, and stocky, and dark eyes and brown hair streaked through with silver (from what was peeking out from under his top hat). Flora, who she knew was adopted, looked more like their parents and Kat then Alfendi did.
Hershel noticed the surprise, but only smiled, guessing Alfendi hadn't told her that he was adopted yet. Instead, he waited until Lucy finally found her voice.
"Er, Lucy Baker, at yer service. It were right kind of you to invite me, Professor. Thank you," she said, standing and shaking his hand. Hershel smiled more at that, appreciating her politeness.
"It was my pleasure, my dear," he said, sitting in one of the chairs. "How has the Mystery Room been treating you?"
"Oh, it's incredibly exciting, right from the first case! A Hand Sarnie, can you believe it? Of course, Prof were already sure of the culprit before he had me take a gander at it, but…" she shook her head, not noticing everyone's amusement at her nickname for Alfendi. "It were amazing. He's amazing," she finished. Violet grinned.
"Yup! That's my Uncle Fendi for you!" she pipped. Eric chuckled, gently pulling her into his lap and shushing her. Sharo got excited, thinking they were horsing around, and jumped on both of them, causing Violet to squeal in laughter. Hershel chuckled before looking back at their guest.
"Yes, Alfendi is quite amazing," he agreed, pride radiating in his voice. "He's been like that ever since he was little," he sighed. Lucy smiled at that. "And he's recently gotten his passion back, too. I understand it's you we have to thank for that." The professor tipped his hat towards the young woman, who blushed.
"Oh, ah, I had nowt to do with it. It just sorta happened on one of our cases," Lucy stammered. Hershel smiled patiently.
"I mean with finalizing that last case," he clarified, causing Lucy to blush even more.
"Oh. That. Still, if it weren't for Hilda and Alfendi himself, I don't doubt I would'a botched the job somethin' nasty," Lucy said modestly. Hershel chuckled, but decided to move on from that conversation.
…
Alfendi returned just as dinner was being put on the table, brushing snow from his shoulders in an irritated way, his hair a blazing scarlet. Violet, seeing this, perked up and darted over to him.
"Uncle Fendi, Uncle Fendi! What happened?" she begged excitedly. Alfendi's scowl softened slightly, but didn't disappear as he looked down at his niece.
"Some buggers with their bad driving," he explained, patting Violet's head. She grinned, loving that this side of Alfendi has finally returned. The calmer side of him was uncomfortable to her, but this side was him.
He glanced up, noting that everyone was in the dining room, and took Violet's hand, leading her over to join them.
"I'm glad you got back just in time, Alfendi," Mary said with a warm smile at her son as he sat, his hair slowly dulling back to purple. "Now, let's eat."
…
After dinner, Kat took Sharo and Violet back into the living room to play, while the rest helped clean up. Finally, though, Alfendi decided to step out front to get some air. He looked up, watching the snowflakes drift slowly down, as he crossed his arms to conserve heat, having forgotten his jacket inside.
"'Ere," Lucy said from behind. Alfendi half turned, and spotted his jacket, which she held out for him.
"Thank you," he said, pulling it on. He noticed, with some interested, the gift that she was holding under her arm.
"I'm glad you stepped out, to be honest. I um… kind of wanted to give this to you… in… er… well, in private," Lucy said with a small blush, holding the gift out for him. Alfendi's eyebrow quirked, not use to this nervous stammering from her, as he took the gift.
"Well… I got something for you as well," Alfendi said, pulling a small, wrapped box from his pocket and handing it over. She took it in surprise.
"Oh, Prof, I weren't expecting anything from you," she said.
"Nor I from you," he said with a small smile, holding up the gift. "Yet here we are."
"Right," she giggled.
"Go ahead. Lady's first," Alfendi said, channeling a little bit of the gentleman lessons Hershel had been trying to teach him since he was four. Lucy hesitated a moment before gently pulling the paper open. Inside was a small jewelry box.
She carefully opened it, and gasped softly.
Inside was a small, silver watch face, attached to a necklace chain. On the face, under the hands and numbers, was a picture of Alfendi and Lucy, taken after their last case. In the box next to that was a key chain attachment, so that she could wear it either as a necklace or a keychain. She carefully pulled it out, and felt shallow scratches on the back.
Flipping it over, she found it was engraved words, not scratches.
My Dearest Lucy,
Thank you for everything you've done for me, from the first day we met. You, more than anyone else, has lead me to rediscover who I am.
Alfendi.
Alfendi looked away with a small blush. The words had been chosen by Flora (he vehemently argued the usage of 'My Dearest'), though they did capture exactly how he felt. Lucy smiled warmly at that, her eyes watering slightly. She then turned it back over, studying it.
"A watch?" she asked.
"I thought it might help with the whole being late thing," Alfendi muttered, not looking at the girl. Lucy giggled at that and carefully put it on around her neck. She then hugged Alfendi tightly.
"Thank you. It's beautiful," she muttered into his chest. Alfendi put his arms around her and gave her an uncertain squeeze, wishing that she'd stop seeming to be on the verge of tears.
Finally, she pulled back and pulled herself together, taking a deep breath.
"Go ahead. Open yours," she said. Alfendi chuckled and tore the paper away. Inside was what looked like a scrap book. He glanced up at her before opening it.
On the front page was a picture of not just Alfendi and Lucy, but Hilda, Commissioner Barton, Florence Sich, Hague, and even Dustin Scowers. Alfendi noticed, with a small pang, that at the edge of the photo, right next to Hilda, someone had been trimmed out. He knew exactly who it'd been, but he didn't fault Lucy for it either. He smiled warmly and flipped to the next page, surprised to find articles and pictures from the 'Hand Sandwich' case, their first case together. He slowly flipped through the book, which was full of pictures from around the office and of their friends, as well as articles and pictures from all of their cases. In the back was a bunch of blank pages, ready for more pictures and newspaper clippings. He smiled warmly and carefully closed it, tucking the scrapbook under his arm and, to Lucy's surprise, and his even greater surprise, he hugged her again.
"P-Prof?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him.
"Thank you, Lucy. It's… a really nice gift," he said. Lucy smiled and snuggled more into the man she'd come to admire and look up to, while Alfendi rested his chin on top of her head.
"Do… do you really mean that?" she asked, her voice muffled by his jacket.
"Of course I do. I can tell you put a lot of work into it. I actually…" he glanced at the book and chuckled at himself. "I actually really love it."
His words rolled over her, filling her with warmth, and she smiled wider, tightening her arms around him.
"I'm glad," she muttered. Alfendi blinked down at her before gently knocking her hat off and resting his cheek against her soft, warm hair, more comfortable then he's been in many, many years.
…
A/N: And there we go! Alfendi Lucy fluff. They're so precious… heh.
By the way, for as short as this is, it took me way too long to write. I also restarted it like… three times…